The Mute and the Liar (76 page)

I quickly
open
my
notebook.

What did Jayce
say? You
have
to
tell
me
everything!

“
That
was
it,
really.
Oh,
and
he
told
me
to
tell
you
that
he
would
be
leaving
for
a
while,
so
you don’t
need
to
worry he’s
going
to
kidnap you
again
any time soon.
”

Where
is he
going?

“
I
don’t
know. He
didn’t
say.
”

Oh.
Well,
that’s
not
a
lot
of
help.
I
should
feel
happy
and
relieved.
But
instead
a
metal-like
weight
lodges
itself
in
my
stomach.
I
have
to
stop
thinking
about
him.
He’s
gone
now.

You came
all the
way
here
from Bath? Where
are
you
staying?

“
My
sister
lives
about
an
hour
away
from
here
so
I’m
staying
with
her
for
the
week.
Do you
mind
that
I
parked my
car outside?
”

I
shake
my
head.
He
puts
his
hands
on my
shoulders
and
his
soft
almond-
shaped,
sky
blue
eyes
look
at
me
full
on.
They’re
so
warm
and
comforting.
So
different
from
Jayce's
eyes
that
burn
right
through
you
and
make
you
feel like
you
have
to
look
away.

“
I’m so sorry
about
all of
this,
Alicia.
I
really am. Are you
all right?
”

I
nod
and
he
hugs
me
again.
My
arms
automatically
lift
up
and
hug
him
back.
He’s
so… warm.
Makes
me feel
safe.

We
head
into the house and
I
close
the
door
behind us.

“
I’ll
make
sure
Jayce
pays
for
this.
God,
even
his
name
makes
me
feel
sick.
Such
a
psycho.
I
mean,
randomly
kidnapping
someone?
Who
the
Hell
does
that?
”
he
asks,
his
voice
raising
an
octave
at
the
end.
He
makes
his
way
to
the
dining
table and
sits
down.

He
was
acting
under someone
else’s
orders.

“
That’s
no
excuse
though
Alicia,
is
it?
”
he
snaps
back.
“
He
could
have
easily
just
called
the
police
or,
here’s
a
genius
idea,
not
gone
along
with
this
shit
in
the first
place.
”

I
narrow
my
eyes
a
little
and
look
away.
I
think
Jeffrey’s
being
a
little
harsh.
Jayce
did
try
to
let
me
go. Didn’t
he?
Or
am
I
just
going mad?

He
did try
to
help
me.

“
When?
”
Jeffrey
says
with
an
incredulous
tone,
almost
with
a
laugh.
“
Yeah,
I’m
sure
he
was
really
trying
to
help you that time when stopped
you
from
running
away
and
then
tried
to
kill
me.
That
was
really
just
a
twisted
act
of
love, wasn’t
it?
”

He
wasn’t a
bad person,
Jeffrey.

“
Yeah,
I’m
sure
he
only
goes
around
killing
everyone
who
gets
in
his
way
when
he’s
bored.
The
rest
of
the
time
he
magically
transforms
into
a
fluffy
bunny. God,
have some
sense,
Alicia.
”

But
he
wasn’t!

“
Alicia,
he
sent
some
guy
to
the
hospital
just
to
threaten
me
so
I
wouldn’t
go
near
you
again.
He’s
a
bloody
psychopath.
I’m
just
glad
your
dad
got
you
out
of
there before he
seriously hurt
you.
”

He
wouldn’t
have
hurt
me.
At
least,
that’s
what
I
tell
myself.
I
seem
to
have forgotten that
he
nearly
strangled me
and
put
a
knife
to
my neck.

Are
you
sure
it
was
Jayce
who
sent
that
person
to
threaten
you
and
not
the
person
controlling
him?
The
person
impersonating
his
friend
Becky?

Jeffrey
lets
out
an irritated
groan
and rolls
his
eyes.

“
Why
are
you
defending
him?
He
hurt
you!
”
he
says
this
a
little
too
loudly
for
my
liking,
raising
his
voice
even
more
near
the
end.
His
suddenly
harsh,
sharp
tone
sends
an
uneasy
feeling
prickling down
my
neck.

“
I
think
you’re
just
confusing
yourself,
”
he
says,
his
voice
calm
again
but
a
little
stilted
and
forced
.
“
I
get
it
now.
You
see
Jayce
as
the
good
guy
because
he
didn’t
kill
you.
You’ve
taken
that
to
mean
that
he
cared
about
you
or
that
he
was
protecting
you.
When
really
it
was
just
because
it
wasn’t
part
of his plan.
”

Stockholm
syndrome.
That’s
what
Jeffrey’s
describing.
When
people who
have
been kidnapped mistake their
captors’ actions
for
kindness.

Maybe Jeffrey is right. Maybe I'm being silly in defending Jayce. I
decide to
get some
information out of Jeffrey.
It
might
make this
all
a
bit
clearer.

What did the
person who
came
to
see
you
at
the
hospital look like?

“
I
know
who
it
was.
It’s
this
guy
in
the
year
above
me
at
my
school.
I
could
see
he
had
his
phone
in
his
inside
coat
pocket
and
was
secretly
filming
me,
so
I
pretended
I
didn’t
know
him
in
case
he
retaliated.
He
didn’t
talk
in
his
normal
voice.
He
put
on
a
stern,
deep
voice
so
it
would
sound
like
he
was
older.
He’s
got
curly
brown
hair.
Tall
with
tanned
skin.
Weird
name.
It’s
Russian,
I
think.
”